Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1887-04-08
ABOUT DIAMONDS
Facts Relating to Their Origin. Formation
and General Usefulness.

and General Usefulness.
Diamonds have been objects of inter.
est both to the ancients as well as they
are at present to all classes, but more
especially to scientists and savants, to
whom, even up to this present age,
they are a mystery. as to their origin
or formation. Though known to be
composed of pure carbon, Pliny, as
well as other ancient writers, seems to
have been ignorant as to their charac.
teristics, being imbued with more su.
perstitious ideas than true practical
knowledge or estimate of their powers
of resistance, believing they could only
be crushed by previous bath of goat
blood. Persians give special venera,
ton to the diamond, owing to their be-
lief that they fell from the heavens at
the earliest creation of the world.
Others attribute them to be of celestial
origin, as aerolites, possessing electric
light; others, again, believe them of
vegetable origin, as some are found
with water cavities, also vegetable as
well as animal matter embedded in
them. Workers in them seem to have
q more true and practical knowledge
of them, and feel convinced that they
are more of volcanic origin, and
their surmses may be correct, by the
recent discovery in South Africa, where
most of the supply is derived from the
bed or mouth of an exhausted crater.
Also in the discovery, within the past
half century, of its sister morphonic
gem, called carbonate, which to an
inexperienced eye lin some stages of it's
formation) has the outward appear
ance of crystals of emery, and when
broken looks like fractured, hardened
steel; again, in other stages the APP
pearance of porous lava; but even -
the worker, as well as the scientist,
their progressive age of formation still
remains mystery. 1t is impossible to
say whether the above is an old or
young diamond, being an opaque COM
bination of minute gray crystals, COM
pressed together by some natural force
into such a dense form and temper as
to make its sister lamellar and trans
parent gem subject to its attrition; and
an invaluable adjunct in the mechanic
arts. Again, we see the diamond in
its transition state of formation from
carbonate to that of granular lamelar
diamond flakes, and then progressins
Or one may presume to SO call it) into
the opaque carbonacular form called
borts (like rough molten balls of glass; =,
and when broken furnish fibrous spln-
tiers like asbestos, which are used for
drilling holes in jewels, etc. Finally,
they verge into the lamellar translucent
and transparent state, having "a cleav-
age like mica, of geometrical forms.
Some of these crystals are formed with
other small octahedron diamonds en-
bedded in the side facets As to the
uses of the diamond in various ages
and by different nations, they are UNI
doubleday prehistoric. and might be
classed in their uses among the stone
age. 1t has been conceded bv
modern savants that they must
have been used in the days of
the Pharaohs for something besides
amulets. AT meeting of the Anthro-
biological Institute of London, not long
since. by a reading before them, Mr..
w. Nj. Flinders had collected evidence
in tomb at Gizeh that tools armed
with jewels had been used in the form
Of solid or tubular drills as well as
saws. The lines in cutting stone with
these tools leave an unmistakable trace
of their workings, which no other tool
does.
The unfinished obelisk at the
Egyptian quarries, which has been
lying there for over four thou
sand years, has continuous spiral
grooves, being of uniform depth,
showing the cutting edge of the tool
was not in any wise impaired. Dia.
monds had different names in various
ages, among nations and tribes. In
the days of Solomon, "samer" or
''shamer," after the miraculous stone
working worm of that name; by the
Egyptians, auerchillis or chalazias;
Grecian, adamas or adamantine; and
by the Jews. iahaome. etc. Thus lost
arts are being restored to us by scien-
tifc research, and in recent years as
well as the present. We now see the
diamond advertised in multitudinous
branches of arts. We had occasion, in
our issue of May !, 1876, to refer to dia-
monds and their tses, since which they
have been growing rapidly in favor for
trimming or truing chilled iron, paper
calender and porcelain rolls, emery
wheels, saving and trimming stone,
boring rock for tunneling and prospect
ing mines. etc. Scientific An1erican.
General Grants Horses.